Bridging Race and Disability in Advocacy

“A community means including the voices, including the experiences, including the wisdom of the very community that you are trying to be in service to.”
Erika L Watson

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Meet Erika Watson

Meet Erika L. Watson, founder and CEO of The Intersection Collective, a groundbreaking platform dedicated to advocating for and empowering individuals at the intersection of race and disability.

Erika’s work is focusing on improving the lives of children of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and communities. She also supports executives on their journey to becoming more intentionally inclusive in their leadership.

Erika’s impressive resume includes serving on the Equitable Nutrition in Schools Advisory Council to First Lady Michelle Obama, contributing to the historic Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2010. She also founded Dress for Success in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit that has empowered over 30,000 women, many of whom are disabled, BIPOC, formerly incarcerated, and possess intersecting identities, to build skills and secure meaningful career opportunities.

“Nothing about us without us”

Erika sheds light on her personal journey and the motivations behind her work. As a mother and caregiver for a parent with cognitive disabilities, she has firsthand experience of the challenges faced by those with disabilities. The Intersection Collective’s mantra, “Nothing about us without us,” highlights the importance of including voices from the disability community in advocacy and decision-making processes.

Emphasizing the need for intentional inclusivity

It’s a team effort. Sylvia Nyegenye (on the left) and Kelly Green(on the right) are part of the Intersection Collective team.

Erika shares her vision for The Intersection Collective, emphasizing the need for intentional inclusivity. She recounts the everyday struggles and triumphs of caring for her mother, revealing the systemic barriers that people with marginalized identities and with disabilities face. Through her work, Erika aims to bring purposefulness and intentionality to making the world more inclusive for people with intersectional identities.

Building the village

One of the key projects The Intersection Collective is currently working on is a pilot program called “The Village.” This initiative aims to empower parents of color with children with learning differences and disabilities to become more effective advocates for their children. By providing culturally responsive and inclusive advocacy training, The Village seeks to build a community network that amplifies voices and fosters equity in education.

Celebrating milestones

Erika emphasizes the importance of celebrating milestones, big and small, in the journey of social impact work. She shares personal anecdotes about the transformative power of recognizing and honoring achievements, no matter how minor they may seem. For Erika, celebrating milestones is crucial for maintaining motivation and sustaining the often challenging work of advocacy and leadership.

She describes how acknowledging successes, such as completing a grant proposal or making strides in a pilot program, provides the necessary fuel to continue pushing forward. As you listen in, you will also hear Erika offer practical suggestions for incorporating celebrations into daily life.

Serving from a place of abundance

Erika also discusses the importance of self-care and finding joy amidst the challenges of advocacy work. She emphasizes the need to celebrate small victories and ensure that we are caring for ourselves so that we can serve others from a place of abundance rather than lack.

“I committed to myself for myself. I think that’s an important distinction. I committed to myself for myself that I wanted to be a better healthier version of me for me. Not I wanted to be a better healthier version of me so I could be a better mom or a better healthier version of me so I could be a better care giver or better healthier version of me so I could be a better Ceo and leader of a team, like yes, those are. But those are benefits those are ancillary benefits of being a better healthier version of me but fundamentally I want to be a better healthier version of me because I like me better when I’m happy. I like me better when my cup is full, when my heart is full.”

Showing support

“If you are a person in an environment who owns a privileged identity, give your platform to someone who has a marginalized identity. So that they can center their own voices so that they can speak on their own behalf um amplified through your platform of privilege.”

To support Erika and The Intersection Collective, she encourages listeners to become advocates, educate themselves about the needs of the disability community, and ally with advocacy groups. Understanding the art and culture created by marginalised groups can provide valuable insights into their lived experiences and help inform advocacy efforts.

“People with marginalized intersectional identities are not here to educate you or to alleviate your concerns that you are. Like being some way somehow politically incorrect or racist or ableist or Xenophobic or any of the isms right? It’s not my job as a black woman with a disability to alleviate you of your worries that you’re being ableist and or racist you know it’s your job to learn more about my culture and about my experience. So that you can answer the questions for yourself.”

Join us in this as Erika L. Watson shares her journey, her work, and her vision for a more inclusive society.

Listen on Apple, Spotify or any of your favorite Podcast players.

In this episode you learn:

05:34 What it means to serve community
06:47 – 07:33 Being confronted with the lack of justice
08:22 – 09:06 The starting point of the Intersection Collective’s work
23:32 – 24:13 A trigger to look out for when taking care of others.
26:23 – 27:22 What your happiness has to do with how you show up for your community
35:12 – 36:12 How to become a better ally

Connect with Erika L Watson:

Intersection Collective: https://intersectioncollective.com

Connect with us

Connect with the #impact team on Instagram @hashtagimpact or just send us an email at hello@hashtagimpact.com

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